Everywhere I Ate in Montreal, Canada

We all definitely know by now that spending a month in a new city is basically my personal foodie playground, and Montreal was no different! My days were filled with savory poutines and sweet desserts and lots of pizza and so much in between. One month was definitely not enough time to explore all of Montreal’s amazing restaurants, but I got a good start this past spring. I guess that’s just an excuse to come back and do more “research.” Until then, we’re getting right into it: here’s everywhere I ate during my month in Montreal, Canada!

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1. Schwartz's Deli

Schwartz’s Deli is an iconic Montreal establishment world famous for their smoked meat - so naturally, I had to try it on top of a huge box of poutine. It’s a small shop with a long line, so be prepared to wait a bit for your food. It’s worth it, though!

What to Order:

• “Poutine a la Schwartz” (smoked meat poutine)

3. Jardin Nelson

Jardin Nelson is a famous restaurant in Old Montreal, so when my friend Abby came to visit me for a couple days, we knew we wanted to try it out. They don’t take reservations, though, so you’ll have to try your luck if you want to eat here! We got there very close to opening for lunch, so we didn’t have to wait for a table, but it filled up pretty fast. The ambiance here is pretty unmatched - it’s open-air seating, yet somehow still inside, with a live band playing jazz music as you enjoy your drinks and meals. What could be better in the heart of Old Montreal? I wasn’t a fan of the Bloody Mary, but you must eat the pulled duck poutine if you come here - I don’t make the rules. It was insane.

What to Order:

• Poutine with pulled duck confit

4. El Pastaman

After a long day of walking around Montreal, we decided our feet were too sore to go out for dinner, so we ended up ordering big boxes of takeout pasta and it was a wonderful choice. El Pastaman lets you totally customize your pasta, so it’s pretty much impossible to get a plate that you don’t enjoy. We wanted something super carby and filling and that’s what we got!

What to Order:

• Fettuccine with white sauce, sun-dried tomatoes, pancetta, and parmesan

5. Drogheria Fine

This was definitely one of the best things I ate in Montreal, hands down. My friends Liv and Nijal recommended it to me from a trip they had recently taken, so it was high on my list of foods to try - it did not disappoint in the slightest! Super easy to order as it’s a walk-up counter with two options: spicy or not spicy. I obviously went with spicy, and when I tell you it was doused with red pepper flakes, I’m not kidding. The picture speaks for itself. But it’s all takeout and you can get a fork with it to eat in a park nearby, which is exactly what I did!

What to Order:

• Spicy gnocchi

6. La Beignerie

I noticed this donut shop on one of my long walks around the city, and since I wasn’t too far from my Airbnb, I grabbed one on my way home. It was a cute, very Instagrammable spot filled with gorgeous specialty donuts in literally every flavor you could imagine. I went with a classic - tiramisu - and it was lovely. Definitely very sweet and very filling, but it’s a great spot to get a box with friends and try different flavors!

What to Order:

• Tiramisu donut

7. Poutineville

Don’t get me wrong, any type of poutine is gonna be good enough for me to eat, but when I saw “red wine braised beef” on the menu at Poutineville, I nearly lost my mind. And yes, it was as good as it sounds. It held up through delivery really well, too, which gets big points. It was almost like a pulled pork Mac and cheese, but so much better because, well, it’s French fries and gravy.

What to Order:

• Poutineville Régulière / Regular Poutineville (red wine braised beef poutine)

8. Artigiani

Another great spot for pasta in Montreal! We dined in-house here, rather than getting takeout, and while we felt a little underdressed in our sweaters and jeans, the food was delicious and the staff were lovely. The wild boar ragù took me back to Italy - perfect portion, delicious flavors, authentic in every way!

What to Order:

• Orecchiette al ragù di cinghiale (wild boar ragù)

9. Joyo Burger

Sometimes you just need to order junk food for dinner, and that’s what I did multiple times from Joyo Burger. I think it was the first time that a fast food chain was so good I ordered twice, too! Their fried chicken poutine was fantastic, and I remember audibly gasping after my first bite of the fried chicken sandwich. The fries aren’t pictured, but they were incredible too - thick cut, crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside, a little greasy but not too greasy. Pretty much everything you could want in a French fry (or at least everything I could want).

What to Order:

• Classic poutine (add fried chicken breast)
• Nashville fried chicken sandwich

10. La Grocerie

I walked by this restaurant so often during my month in Montreal, but sadly only ended up going once. I’m so glad I did though, because their breakfast poutine was incredible! I guess technically it was the “poutine lunch” but it was served at brunch time, so it works for both. If there’s a poached egg on top, it’s breakfast to me. Regardless, this was SO good: home fries covered in red onions, cheese curds, gravy, hollandaise, a poached egg, and fresh herbs? Say less.

What to Order:

• Poutine lunch

11. Fabergé

Fabergé was probably my favorite brunch spot in Montreal, but again, I got so caught up in trying other places that I didn’t ever end up going back. I wish I had because it was such a great vibe! Sort of a casual-yet-bougie mix, in appearance and in menu items. They had tons of classic dishes that were elevated slightly to make them more unique, and I’m definitely a sucker for that type of menu. I had bacon stuffed waffles with blueberries, syrup, and whipped cream (aka heaven), and my friend Abby had the breakfast poutine (also heaven). Paired with bottomless mimosas, it was a pretty perfect brunch!

What to Order:

• La Belle Province (waffles)
• Breakfast poutine

12. Poutine Bros

Another takeout poutine that blew my mind - butter chicken poutine. I still can’t even believe I was able to order butter chicken poutine at all. It’s a thing, guys, and it’s delicious. I was trying to decide between ordering poutine or Indian food one night, and it truly was like my prayers were answered when this beauty popped up on DoorDash. It could have used more curry (I like my poutine really smothered in gravy), but the flavors were incredible! Props to Montreal for having the actual dinner of my dreams able to be delivered right to my doorstep.

What to Order:

• Butter chicken poutine

13. Crêpes Mtl

I’m slightly ashamed to admit that I don’t think I’ve ever had a proper crêpe until coming to Montreal. However, I did order these multiple times when I had crazy sugar cravings and they truly hit the spot. I’ve become such a lover of Biscoff since traveling - I don’t know what it is because I usually prefer fruity over chocolatey, but man, those Lotus crêpes were insane. I did add fruit to them on my own, though, so it was the best of both worlds.

What to Order:

• Strawberry Kinder crêpes
• Lotus crêpes

14. Patisserie L’Eclaircie

I feel like I don’t even need to explain why I got these eclairs–literally just look at the photo and tell me you wouldn’t also go a little sugar happy in the store and buy too many. They did last me almost a week, though, so props to myself for not just housing the entire box on my way home like I wanted to. I’ve loved eclairs ever since I was a kid (they’re my dad’s favorite dessert), but I’ve never had any specialty flavors until Montreal. Needless to say, I’m hooked and now I want to own a bakery specifically to create crazy eclair flavors.

What to Order:

• Vanilla pecan
• Raspberry pistachio
• Cappuccino
• Dark chocolate

15. Pizzeria No. 900

I have very fond memories of this pizza simply because I took it to the park and had myself a lovely little picnic on one of my last days in Montreal. However, the pizza itself was really good on its own! The sunny spring day just made it taste that much better. I also tried Lemoncocco for the first time and I loved it - it’s a non-carbonated lemonade drink made with coconut, and had a really interesting and refreshing flavor. Definitely a good pairing for a classic pizza.

What to order:

• Margherita pizza
• Lemoncocco